Masquerade
by Swamp angel
Summary: The school is having a Masked Ball. Costumes are prepared and dates are arranged, but with everyone in masks, an cursed angel statue present, and a Ball Queen and King to be chosen, the night may just turn into something a little crazier...
1. Preparations

**Title:** Masquerade

**Prolouge: **PREPARATIONS ::the calm before the storm::

**Summary**: The school is holding a masked ball, and everyone's invited! But there may be more to this than it seems, and there' s definitely trouble brewing in the aisles…

**POV:** Third Person, alternating

**Comments: **Hm. I'm not too happy with my writing style on this one. I kind of recur terms way too much, and it sounds really weird at some parts. Dang! I might edit this someday, but for now I'll just post it. Enjoy.

* * *

"That's it, Daisuke, now a little more to the left!" 

"Yap!" he shouted back in reply and did as he was told.

It was two days before the ball. What ball…? Well, in truth, nobody was too sure.

There wasn't anybody who could tell you why exactly why the school was holding a ball. Maybe the principal thought that it was better than any regular old dance or prom? Maybe he just thought it was an good idea? Undoubtedly it was an interesting one, but as of now, for Daisuke Niwa, it was an inconvenience and it was killing his right arm.

"Alright! It's fastened! You can let go now Niwa!"  
He breathed out in relief and thankfully dropped his arm, wringing his wrist to get some life back to it. Then looked up at the thing he'd been holding up for so long.

In loud, red, painted letters, it said:

"COME ONE COME ALL TO THE MASKED BALL

COVER YOUR FACE

WEAR COLORFUL DRESS

YOU NEED NOT BE YOURSELF TONIGHT."

It hung over the gym door, like a curtain, beckoning others to come. Daisuke sighed again and climbed down the ladder.

It was late. Sunset was closing in and he really wanted to be getting home already. There were things to see to at his home, and stuff to ready, not to mention homework…

He walked into the actual gym, a hall of massive proportions, looking grander and more beautiful than ever due to the efforts of the decoration committee. There were less students than there were some hours back however a horde of them were still pinning up banners and decorating the walls with eerie glitter effects. Some others were even trying their best to hook up the lights.

Looking around, Daisuke began to feel guilty at his want to leave. Everyone else was working so hard after all…

It was then he caught sight of whom he was looking for. He was standing near the end of the hall, hunched over his clipboard like a hawk and giving instructions to some delivery men lugging a tall box towards a marble platform against the wall, underneath an elaborate wall tapestry someone had donated and put up earlier in the day. The package was plastered with the word fragile in more places then Daisuke could count. He stared at it in wonder. What was in it? Some kind of centerpiece for the entire party?

The red head shook his head out of the clouds. That didn't matter right now. He had to be getting home.

"Be careful with that," the head of the decoration committee bellowed, not looking up from his clipboard, as if he could sense whatever the two delivery men were doing, looking or not.

"Satoshi!" he called, and ran over.

The silver haired boy looked up as Daisuke ran towards him.

"Daisuke." He said in simple acknowledgement.

"Hey, um, Satoshi." Daisuke said, his voice coming down to a softer tone again. The embarrassment of himself not working as hard as everyone else was beginning to seep back in. "May I have your permission to, um, leave already? Go home?"

Satoshi blinked at him, and Daisuke, in another level of nervousness, began stuttering out reasons.

"You see I have to help my mother with some things, and I've got all this homework to do…not to mention I haven't gotten anything to wear to the party after tomorrow and I haven't got a mask either but actually I do but I still need to fix it but I'm sorry I'm not working as hard and everyone else but still and well…heh…my arm really hurts…"

Satoshi listened to all of this with a very blank expression on his face, and Daisuke started to feel really stupid at the number of excuses he'd just conjured up. He half expected the boy to just turn back to his clipboard and not mind him at all.

Unexpectedly though, what Satoshi did was smile warmly back at him. "It's really no worry, Daisuke. Go ahead and go home if you need to."  
Daisuke smiled back, ultimately relieved. "Thanks, Satoshi. Bye then."

And he grabbed his school bag and ran as fast as he could out the gate as Satoshi turned back to his clipboard, the sun, low in the sky, shining through the windows and reflecting on his glasses making it impossible to read his expression.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Daisuke didn't stop running until the school was out of sight. He leaned against the wall and nearly sank to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Man, I must've looked so stupid!" He huffed to himself.

_"That package…"_

The voice came uninvited and Daisuke snapped back, annoyed, "What do you want, Dark?"

Dark's consciousness came out of the mind pit it hid itself in whenever Daisuke willed it and spoke:

"_There was something in that package. The one your friend with the glasses was directing to the hall. I think that there's something of value in there. Perhaps, even, something worth stealing."_

"What do you mean? Geez. You want to go out thieving tonight? I'm exhausted!"

"_You won't be stealing anything, I will. And besides, who said anything about stealing? We'll check out what exactly that big wrapped thing was, _then _we'll steal it tomorrow if I see any worth in it."_

"Darn it, look! I'm really tired right now and I don't want to argue! I refuse to allow you use of my body tonight for any reason whatsoever and that's that!"

Daisuke stared sternly at the air for some time, imagining a face to face conversation with his impudent alter ego.

In Daisuke's head, Dark was grinning. The boy was showing _some_ backbone, at least.

Then finally, Daisuke sighed for the umpteenth time that day and proceeded to walk again, with the words. "Besides, I'll probably be up the entire night. I don't have a suit or mask yet, and I have my date to worry about too."

"_Harada Riku, am I right_?" Dark laughed. "_You're so lucky being able to take out a pretty girl like that. I'd sell my soul for a girl like her. Or…well…I'd sell yours anyway."_

"Buzz off," said Daisuke as forcefully as he could, which, in a way, really wasn't forceful at all.

Dark sniggered and withdrew.

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"Isn't it perfect?"

Risa turned to face her sister who was sitting on the bed with anything but excitement on her face. She was staring at the floor with a very glazed look in her eyes, obviously very deep in thought, obviously unable to respond to the question and obviously not listening or caring for the words that came out of Risa's mouth.

At this realization, Risa's smile faltered the teeniest bit before saying in a close-to-shout voice, "I said: Isn't it perfect?"

Riku's head snapped up like someone had just lit a firecracker on her face. It took her one second to recollect everything that happened within the last ten seconds. She forced a smile and said, "Um, yeah, perfect, right."

Risa nodded. As long as she was agreed with she was satisfied.

Riku exhaled. Thank the lord she was easy to please.

"Isn't it perfect?" Risa sighed again, unaware that this was the third time, "A masked ball!"

She threw open the cabinet door and fished through it a bit before finding what she wanted. With a dramatic flourish and an audible shwing, she beheld a dress of various shades of pink with excessive ruffles and an off shoulder cut.

"I am going to look absolutely _gorgeous _in this," she sighed, hugging the dress as if it were her child.

Riku smiled, sincerely this time. Indeed, her sister would look as beautiful as any princess in a dress like that. It suited her to a tee.

Of course she was yet to hear the rest of the sentence, which Risa continued as she sank to the floor, dramatically, with a smile of pure bliss on her face, "…and when Dark asks me to dance, we'll look just…so…" and her face flushed and she squealed into the dress, her smile so large this time that it was debatable whether her face could contain it or not.

"Dark?" said Riku, getting up on the bed and looking down at her weak-kneed twin, an expression of disbelief plastered on her face, "…as in Dark Mousy? The thief?"

"Is there any other?" Risa replied, still grinning ear to ear.

"As in violet hair, dark wings, flies in the night and steals works of art?"

Risa sighed smiling even wider, as his image popped into her head, "The exact one."

"Risa! I can't believe you're still…" she searched for the correct word, "_pursuing_ this silly obsession!"

Risa got up slowly, at the same time. "It's not an obsession," she turned her face to her sister's and copied the expression so that at a glance, they looked like the two sides of a mirror, "it's love."

"Besides," she went on, a smirk creeping into her face, "don't you have your own date to worry about?"

Riku blushed. It was true that she had been too busy criticizing her sister to even mind herself. She had no dress yet, no mask, and she didn't want too look like a frumpy girl who just threw everything on for the sake of it. Not when she was going with Daisuke!

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Satoshi walked into the school's ballroom, his footsteps echoing through the emptiness of banners and streamers in the dark.

Being head of the committee of decoration wasn't exactly his idea of a good time. In fact, if anything, it was trying his patience. Too many people asking how to do this and that, and how this should go and where that should be. It was driving him insane. But there was still this.

He stopped near the end of the massive ballroom and tipped his head upward. There it was.

It was a woman, or was it? At first sight, it seemed everything a woman should be, but upon closer inspection, one would see that it was a genderless beauty. The great androgynous statue stood there lacking arms, but having massive wings that though stone, seemed light and soft. It's body was wrapped in what seemed an unraveling toga to cover parts for the sake of censorship. It's hair seemed long fine locks waving in the wind. And it's face, most especially it's eyes that were engraved sapphires – again, so beautiful, that it would make artists and dreamers weep in desire.

The statue. It was an angel, poised, about to take flight. The angel Tabris. The angel of freedom.

It was discovered in the basement of a castle near the coast of North Ireland less than a month ago. Apparently it had been created by one of his ancestors some centuries back and given as a gift to some foreign friends or some other. It had arrived some mornings ago and Satoshi had gotten this brilliant idea.

But at this point details didn't matter. The Tabris was here. The time was now.

He pushed his glasses farther up his nose and the arrogant image of the Phantom Thief Dark flashed through his mind, carrying pieces of art out of Satoshi's reach after another. The _Hikari's _family's art.

Satoshi clenched his teeth slightly and stepped forward.

It was a very beautiful statue.

He ran his fingers down the sculpture's legs, skimming delicately like a spider over water. "He will not get his hands on this statue," he hissed, at the universe in general.

And as if the universe was replying, there was a crash of thunder.

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And in the dark recesses of Satoshi's mind, Krad smiled.

* * *

Next up: Riku buys a dress, Daisuke gets a suit and Dark makes plans to crash the party 

And that's it for now peeps.

As a warning for people who plan to read the masked ball and all, I'm not totally DNAngel oriented, and I haven't watched it in some time, so there may be a lot of inconsistencies with the actual plot, and the characters may be a little off. Sorry in advance.

Plus, can anyone guess why I named the angel Tabris:3

And – pairing alert! – I'm very open to all DNAngel pairings, but I'm especially fond of RikuxDark, RikuxDaisuke, SatoshixRisa and strangely enough RikuxKrad, so be ready for a good helping of these, a dozen other pairings, and perhaps even an OC in the future.


	2. The Night Before

**Title:** Masquerade

**Chapter 2: **THE NIGHT BEFORE ::gray clouds on the horizon::

**Summary: **Individual preparations are under way. Daisuke and his grandfather talk of possible risks, the twins of colors, and Dark to himself about plots.

**POV:** Third person, alternating

**Comments:** Ironically enough, if I really didn't like the way I wrote the last chapter, I'm actually pleased with the way I wrote this one. in fact, this is my favorite writing style out of all my fanfics so far! Sorry if anybody is OOC, and sorry if it took forever to update. I kept putting this off for more important things. Haha...um. Yes. Enjoy!

* * *

Emiko Niwa stepped back and clasped her hands to her chest, her eyes sparkling. 

"Oh, Daisuke!" she cried fervently, like a monk completing pilgrimage, "It's perfect!"

Daisuke opened his eyes and very slowly, turned round to look at himself in the mirror. He couldn't help but grin awkwardly.

It was a pretty suit indeed – made of the shimmery kind of velvet that couldn't help but attract attention, regardless of who was wearing it. The only obvious problem to it was that it trailed over his hands and feet in small cascades and that the jacket hung a little too loosely around his thin frame. Even the pants kind of bloated abnormally from the tightness of the belt.

Simply said, it was three sizes too big.

He faced the mirror, still grinning, still awkwardly.

"Er, isn't it a little too big?" he ventured cautiously.

"Nonsense!" his mother all but sang, "You look absolutely adorable, Daisuke. Pitch perfect. As handsome as your papa when he first wore it all those years go! Maybe even better! Isn't that right, grandpa?"

They both turned to him for his opinion. As an answer, he gave a fervent nod of his hairy head and a huge thumbs up.

"See?" she said, "you're handsome beyond reason, don't you doubt it! Ah! This is too cute to miss! I'm going to get the camera!"

And in a zip of almost visible sparkles, she dashed out of the room.

Daisuke smiled fondly after her. She didn't seem to harbor any doubt that the suit fit perfectly even though it really, really didn't. He lifted one hand. The sleeve trailed several inches too long. He sighed. He commended his mother for getting the smell of mothballs out in less than a day in a method only ever revealed to housewives of her calibre, but really, it hadn't even occurred to her to at least tailor the suit a bit.

He looked at his grandfather's reflection, standing calmly by the doorframe, looking quite distracted from the actual situation, as old men often do.

"Grandpa, come on. It's a really nice tuxedo, I know, but you don't seriously think that this flatters me, do you?"

He turned away from the mirror and looked directly at his grandfather and waved his sleeve covered arms. It very much resembled a big, shiny, half-deflated balloon, zipping through the air.

The old man replied by folding his arms and furrowing his brows, actions the worldly do when deep in thought.

"I think," he said, slowly but with conviction, "if it keeps the budget up, doesn't stink and is in wearable condition, it sticks."

Daisuke groaned, staggered forward and threw himself down on their sofa in a whoosh of black. He really wished he was taller….

His grandfather looked at him then, intense seriousness to his eyes.

"Daisuke," he said.

"Yeah grandpa?" Daisuke replied. He could sense the gravity of the upcoming subject in the air. Something serious was going to be talked about.

Grandpa leaned over, closer, as if to keep a secret.

"Has Dark told you about the new treasure that has appeared?" the old man said.

Daisuke said incredulously, "You mean that box Satoshi had delivered as a ballroom decoration? You're saying it's a Hikari treasure?"

"Well…I don't know about any box, but you mean to say that Dark hasn't alerted you to anything yet?"

Daisuke averted his gaze. "Well he may have said something about it…"

Daisuke's grandfather stood up and sat next to the boy. He began to speak then, seriousness dripping from every word.

"Daisuke," he said, "I've only gathered so much information, but here. At the port, a package was delivered a little more than a week ago. The people who delivered whatever this was said that it was delivered with the best security money can get in times like this, and it was delivered over to the Hikari's from a certain foreign country – European I think. Probably. It's almost definitely a treasure. It's rumored to be a statue of some sort, judging from the hugeness of it, but none can be sure.Anyway, my boy, here's the point. That boy – Satoshi? – he's bringing it to your school right?"

"Right."

"Something dangerous may happen."

"What do you mean?" Daisuke was quite lost at this point.

His grandfather explained. "You know how sometimes, bizarre curses and dangers hover around these Hikari pieces? Of course you do. You should know first hand by now..."

He suddenly saw his grandson's incredelous expression. Softening his tone, he said, "Daisuke, I'm just saying that at this point, you should be more on your guard than ever. If this thing has some kind of black magic cast upon it, which it very well may have, you and your friends may get hurt, or worse. It'll be up to you to make sure nothing goes wrong in that dance."

He grasped his grandson's shoulders, a gesture of trust.

"I know you can do this," he went on, "you're formidable for your age. And you've got Dark on your side. Together, I'm sure you'll keep everything together and under control, and make sure nothing unsuspecting gets the bad end of the stick right?"

Daisuke smiled. "Of course grandpa," he said, "if anything goes wrong, I'll protect anyone who needs protection. But, Grandpa, who's to say it's a Hikari treasure anyway, right? It might just be something Satoshi wanted to prettify the room with. He _is _the head of the decoration committee after all, and he has the knack of taking his responsibilities way too seriously sometimes."

He got up and proceeded to try to fold his sleeves in a way that wouldn't tarnish the suit's elegance too much. He was failing remarkably.

"Besides," he went on, "I'm sure nothing like you say will happen. Satoshi wants to maintain some peace for the dance. He won't cause any problems. And if that thing _is _actually a Hikari treasure, Dark wouldn't steal it. I told him not to."

Despite himself, grandpa chuckled. "Somehow, I highly doubt that."

"Doubt what?"

"I got it!"

Emiko stepped back into the room, still almost-visibly exuding sparkles and waving the camera like a rabid cat on ice. Daisuke and his grandfather both turned to her and smiled like nothing was wrong.

She smiled at them, her sunny disposition executing it's contagiousness. "Come on, come on!" she said, "Daisuke, stand over there! You too grandpa! Let's take some pictures while the light is still decent. Then, maybe, if there's still time, son, we'll be able to take some with your mask on too!"

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Riku gingerly lifted a deep maroon dress off of the rack and appraised it.

The bottom half was ver pretty. It made the skirt look roundand nothing unlike an interesting waterfall of cloth and frill. But it was the cut she had a problem with. It was sleeveless, the edges plunging into a deep v neck. Too deep, in fact.

"I don't know," she whispered, "Risa, what do you think?"

Risa returned what she had been looking at back to the shelf and walked over to her sister. She squinted at the garment.

"Do you think it suits me?" Riku asked.

"Hm," her sister replied. She brought a finger to her cheek and pursed her lips and furrowed her brows. "Hm, hm, hm. Do you want to know what I think?"

Riku raised an eyebrow at the theatrics and played along. "And what do you think, prithee tell, oh goddess of fashion?"

Risa grinned mischievously and shoved Riku in a playful way. "Stop that! And what I do think is that you're better off wearing the white dress that mama offered you."

Riku sighed. It was true, though. That_ had_ been the perfect dress for her to wear...

_At hearing her daughter's plight – this being her lack of dress – Riku and Risa's mother gave her something she dug up from the attic. It was a white gown that had belonged to the twins' grandmother, Rika, and it was exactly their size._

_Gorgeous was hardly the word for it. Magnificent suited it better. It had a fetching scooping off shoulder cut that left just the right amount of skin to the eyes. The sleeves were two thin, hanging loops of silk that ended right above where the long, mauve, matching gloves began. At the waist, the dress had sashes woven into it in an intricately eye-pleasing manner, these sashes ribboning at the back of the waist and trailing to the ground like two paper tails. And the skirt – it was like a flower, pleated inwards but rising outwards towards the bottom in a shock of elegance and beauty._

_"There's a matching mask too, if you're interested, Riku. You see, my mother wore it to a masked ball held during her time," their mother had explained, "she would have been glad to have one of you wear it."_

_And Riku had tried it on. And it fit perfectly. Risa had said with much fervor that it suited her and that it was the perfect dress for her. Their mother had agreed. Riku, however, looked at herself incredulously and whispered four words._

_"I can't wear this."_

In present time, Risa took the maroon dress from her and examined the skirt. She asked her twin, "Why don't you want to wear grandmother's dress anyway?"

Riku sighed again and gave a weak-willed shrug.

"It's too beautiful."

This time it was Risa's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Oh come now," she said.

"Really!" Riku insisted, grabbing the dress back from Risa. "I mean, it's a small school party. You don't wear a dress like that for such a small occasion. And besides, its an antique. It's grandmother's. If I were to harm it in anyway, I would never forgive myself. Its better to just buy a new one. One that won't make me feel so conscious. So..." she looked for the right word. "...refined."

Risa put her hands on her hips. "Well fine then!" she said, "I suppose that makes sense. But you should know, you do look wonderful wearing it. In fact, I think I'd like to wear it too!"

Riku looked at her a bit surprised.

Risa winked. "Like you said, it's pretty! And I'm a woman. I can't help but wanna wear it!"

Riku held the dress she was holding away from her to get a better look at it, swishing it this way and that to observe the movement. After a while, she said to Risa, "You know, anything that looks good on me would look better on you."

"Liar!" Risa laughed, "and I'm sticking to my pink dress anyway. I've had it for months, and in the end, it'll suit my mood."

Risa smiled at Riku. Riku smiled back.

Risa then reached over, and once more, grabbed the maroon gown but this time she turned and stuffed it back into the rack. "Not that one. Definitely not. That doesn't even begin to compare to the white one."

She looked at her sister and began stepping back, fingers in a square, capturing Riku as a director does when observing locations or in photo shoots. "Besides," she went on, "maroon is such an ugly, drab color to wear to a festival such as ours. You don't wear maroon to a happy occasion! Blech." She stuck her tongue out and made a face.

Riku couldn't help but laugh.

Risa however, squinted again like she did whenever she was seriously judging something and said, "I'm thinking blue."

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Daisuke threw himself onto his bed and relaxed.

When his mother took pictures, she did so like _mad_. What had been intended to be a one shot memory turned into an hour long pictorial, and now he was exhausted.

But his face and the suit on five whole rolls of film aside, he was quite puzzled. Dark. He had not spoken the entire time. No side comments, no sniggers, no mischievous teases. Not even a scoff when Daisuke tripped on the way-too-long pants leg when his mother hauled him over to pose by the door. Nothing. Zero.

This was unheard of. Although snide at times, Dark was his second personality. He was always around to say something mean or just to say something – anything. In fact, though he wouldn't care to admit it, the thief's presence was almost a comfort to him, and the lack of it was making Daisuke uncomfortable.

_It feels almost like he's hiding something_, Daisuke thought.

He turned his head weakly up and looked out at the window. Somewhere distant, there was a flash of purple lightning. He frowned worriedly. The weather was worsening. There might even be a storm coming up. But what of the dance then? It was tomorrow night, and with the rains becoming strong lately…

Daisuke let the thought hang, and his mind momentarily flashed to Satoshi. Had they finished decorating the hall on time? He felt incredibly stupid again for leaving early. It was a show of his utter lack of capability. He hoped Satoshi would forgive him.

He didn't even think about the box. He didn't remember it at all.

Outside, thunder rumbled, the upset stomach of the sky giving way.

He slept...

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Contrary to Daisuke's assumptions, Dark was perfectly aware of his host's activities at the moment. And he did have a thing or two to say about the way Daisuke looked, but he had chosen not to voice his opinions.

This was because he was busy.

In the backmost corners of Daisuke's mind where he could not be sensed, Dark pondered.

Had he had any physical form at the moment, he'd have been reclining somewhere soft and cushy, his legs crossed and his finger on his chin in a thoughtful position. But of course he was, technically speaking at the moment, nothing but a mass of brain matter at the moment. An alter ego. Another personality. A literal no body.

So, non-existentially, he pondered.

_That crate_ he thought_, the one that that boy Satoshi had those deliverers haul into the room… _

It had been emitting a powerful supernatural energy, the likes of which I Dark had never sensed before, and believe, Dark had sensed many a deal in his time.

Whatever was in there, the aura it had was so strong, it was almost visible to the eyes. Not only that, he couldn't even pinpoint what exactly it was. He was certain it wasn't a curse, and it couldn't be a demon. It wasn't a charm of any sorts...

If Dark had a face, he would have been frowning. It was disorienting. His entire existence stealing and sensing and capturing and such and now – now this. A _box _was pushing him to wit's end.

He tried his best to clear his head. Any huge fluster of emotion and his counterpart would hear his thoughts. _Calm, Dark_, _At least_, he thought, _it is, without a doubt, a Hikari treasure._

And that it was. Daisuke's grandfather was right with his inquiries. The phantom thief could practically smell the Hikari scent on it.

And of course, regardless of what it was – and what Daisuke said – the fact that it was a Hikari treasure could only mean one thing.

Dark was going to steal it.

Daisuke didn't need to know this of course. The boy would disagree. Not to mention he was already stressed enough as it was. It was the boy's first school dance after all, and though most don't believe it, Dark was capable of being sympathetic to adolescent needs.

But of course the biggest reason to not tell him was that if Daisuke was to know what Dark intended to do, he would refuse to go to the dance. And that was unacceptable. After all, the easiest way to do this was an inside job.

_And besides_, he thought on with a non-existent smile, _the suit would look better on me anyway._

* * *

Next up: The girls put on their gowns, the guys put on their tuxes, and the doors open! 

Again, I'm gonna say sorry for the OOCness of everything. Again, I hardly have the oppurtunity to watch DNAngel and tend to let a lot of details slip my mind! If anything is totally and utterly wrong, please say so.

Reviews and constructive criticsm are absolute love by the way. If you are considerate enough - or if you want faster updates - take the time to review please! 83

Satoshi didn't show up in this chapter. I don't know why. I think I ran out of things for him to do. He's probably sleeping somewhere, tired of his decoration comittee crud.

And I like designing dresses in my head, don't you? It's just conveying it in words that make it so difficult.

Hope you all enjoyed that!


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